Franklin, Tennessee has a lot of
stories to tell. Alma McLemore sat with me on the porch swing
of McLemore House and told me one of there stories. Alma is famous around Franklin for telling about the town's
African American history.
McLemore House History
McLemore House has quite a story to
tell. Alma told me how the house came to be such an impoortant
part of Franklin's Black history. "Harvey McLemore was a
former slave. W. S. McLemore was his owner. He owned this
property and subdivided it into lots. It was named "Hard
Bargain" because of what he had to do to subdivide it to sell.
Ok, think about this; Harvey was W. S. former slave but they
were friends. It was like W. S. said 'I can't own you but I
sure can help you.' He sold Harvey four lots."
Harvey built his home on one lot and
became a successful farmer and business man. The McLemore
family remained in the home until 1997. The African American
Heritage Society, with assistance of the Heritage Foundation,
was able to purchase the home and open it as museum telling
the story of the former slaves' path to freedom. It is the
oldest Black owned home in Tennessee. The sad thing is that
this and other former African American neighborhoods are
become gentrified. People are buying the small old homes and
tearing them down to replace with McMansions. History is being
destroyed but the McLemore house remains a small oasis of that
almost lost heritage.
McLemore House Today
They have an annual Juneteeth Celebration. Juneteenth is a celebration of moving from slavery to
freedom that began in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865 when
the Union General Gordon Granger read aloud Order Number 3
telling the slaves they are now free.
McLemore house will have food and
entertainment. Lunch is
free for kids: adults can buy their lunches. The yard will be
filled with guests relaxing in their lawn chairs and enjoying
the free entertainment. The museum will be
open for free tours to retell Harvey McLemore and all of Franklin's Black
families' story as they moved from slavery to freedom. One of
those stories happened right here. Once the section across the
street from McLemore house was filled with small shotgun
houses. Today there is Johnson School in the background. Once
a school for "colored" children, today it is one of Franklin's
highest rated schools. The principal, Tosha Baugh, is an
African American and Harvey's great great great granddaughter.
As Alma said, "Harvey would be proud,
today."
More about Franklin History
For my story on other historic homes in
Franklin:
https://worldfootprints.com/franklin-tennessees-historic-trilogy/
Here's a video Franklin has about the
McLemore House:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCuBlo2nbHg&list=PLSb6l_-kbmv_tCPGMYOKCFxpx_J6EkTXg&index=14
For the entire Historical You Tube
series on Franklin go here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtnFePvkWj0&list=PLSb6l_-kbmv_tCPGMYOKCFxpx_J6EkTXg&index=1
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